Voting for Surrey's first Police and Crime Commissioner this Thursday

Voters across Surrey will be going to the polls this Thursday (November 15) to elect the county's first Police and Crime Commissioner.

Six hopefuls are standing for the post, which has been created as part of nationwide changes which have seen the demise of the old county police authorities.

Instead, in their place, it will be the job of the Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure the policing needs of communities are met as effectively as possible, bringing communities closer to the police, building confidence in the system and restoring trust.

The post of Police and Crime Commissioner has been created with the remit of giving the public a voice at the highest level, and giving the public the ability to ensure their police are accountable.

The candidates standing in Surrey are Robert Evans (Labour) of Weybridge, Kevin Hurley (Zero Tolerance Policing) of Claygate, Julie Iles (Conservative) of Effingham, Nick O'Shea (Liberal Democrat) of Dorking, Robert Shatwell (UKIP) of Woking, and Peter Williams (Independent) of Farnham.

Details of the candidates can be found at: www.choosemypcc.org.uk Alternatively, people can call 0800 1 07 07 08.

The election for the Police and Crime Commissioner will use the Supplementary Vote System, under which voters can vote twice - once for their first choice candidate and again for their second choice candidate. Voters can only put one tick in each column and do not have to select more than one candidate.